perfect, just as you are

One of my favourite things about Vancouver is the quality of yoga studios. I discovered a particularly good one when I was living there last year.  I was so excited by the sheer number of available methods that I more or less moved in for the first three days.  In those first 72 hours I attended 19 yoga classes. I have never felt better. Luckily for my schedule, it was a long weekend. Luckily for my soul, I discovered a teacher named Mike. 

Mike has a wonderful habit of reminding his students of a simple truth: you are perfect, just as you are. He says it in every class. The first time he said it I almost burst out laughing. I kept a goofy grin on my face for the remaining 90 minutes. It struck me as hilarious and joyous and liberating to tune in to each person's inherent perfection. Because it is there. Oh boy, is it ever there. And so evident, too. How could we have missed it as we busily went about our day? Here was a room of perfect, unique, living, breathing, loving human beings, myself included. Moreover, we were coming together with the intention to create and share a positive space in the world. Amazing, incredible, power-FULL.

The second time Mike reminded us that we are "perfect, just as you are," I nearly started to cry. There was nothing about that sentence that I felt was truth. I was, and remain, fascinated that such a little sentence has the power for a remarkable array of emotional responses. How fascinating is the human psyche! That is the thing, though - it is the human psyche, not the sentence itself, that changes the perception of truth. It is important to remember that the variety of interpretations does not call the truth of your perfection into question. It may, however, cause one to investigate his/her personal emotional centre. Grab the shovels, I say! Dig deep. As long as you don't stop in the layers of muck and shame and self-doubt, you will find Your Truth. And the truth, as you know, is that you are perfect. 

To finish, here is a poem by the 14th century Persian mystic and poet, Hafiz. Hafiz is my favourite poet. I would lend you my book of his poetry but I am not sure I could go for more than a few days without it. This particular piece is about accepting that you are perfect, just as you are. (That's the thing about truths -- they don't change much over 700 years.)

*if "God" doesn't work for you today, use another word. Hafiz does it all the time. 

Now is the Time

Now is the time to know

That all that you do is sacred.

Now, why not consider

A lasting truce with yourself and God.

Now is the time to understand

That all your ideas of right and wrong

Were just a child's training wheels

To be laid aside

When you finally live

With veracity

And love.

Hafiz is a divine envoy

Whom the Beloved

Has written a holy message upon.

My dear, please tell me,

Why do you still

Throw sticks at your heart

And God?

What is it in that sweet voice inside

That incites you to fear?

Now is the time for the world to know

That every thought and action is sacred.

This is the time for you to compute the impossibility

That there is anything

But Grace.

Now is the season to know

That everything you do

Is sacred.

Disclaimer: I am a huge goal setter. I love a good vision board. I single-handedly keep the Self-Help book industry going. However, I believe that goals and growth and development are not mutually exclusive of self-love. 

Bodhisattva (Goddess of Compassion) statute peacefully sitting in our garden at home...
Reminding you that you are perfect, even if you missed a weed.